Pinoys want government to provide free medicines to patients

MANILA, Philippines —  Almost all Filipinos think the government should provide medicines to patients for free, according to results of a survey done by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) last December.

The survey, commissioned by the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP), found that 96 percent of respondents believed that the government “should definitely” or “should probably” provide free medicines.

“There is a very strong net agreement across demographics,” the SWS said.

Most respondents believe that the best way to obtain medicines for grave illnesses is through PhilHealth subsidy or through public hospitals and other health facilities.

“Fully pay for the total cost of the prescribed medicines at a discounted price” and “Fully pay for the total cost of the prescribed medicines first, and ask the government to reimburse the full amount after” were also listed as ways to access free medicines.

PHAP, which released partial survey results on Thursday, said the poll also found that paying for medicines was the most burdensome health care expense, followed by payment for doctor’s fees, laboratory fees and hospital room if hospitalized.

It estimated that for every P100 spent on medicines, P85 is paid out-of-pocket by Filipino families or shared by voluntary private insurance.

“At present, the government is providing subsidized or free medicines for certain diseases but would need to be expanded to provide more support to patients, and cover more health conditions especially for economically challenged patients,” the group said in a statement.

Former health secretary Manuel Dayrit said zero out-of-pocket expense is not going to happen for Filipinos overnight.

He noted that there are attempts on the part of the government to provide access to free medicines, but the “saga continues.”

Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho of the Department of Health said programs to provide free medicines to indigent Filipinos are already in place.

Ho also reported that there is an ongoing transition in the procurement of commodities from the national government to local government units.

PhilHealth senior vice president Dr. Israel Pargas said they have initiated a program that has so far provided free medicines to over 200,000 beneficiaries.

According to PHAP, the same survey also found that the efficacy of the medicine is the most important attribute of a COVID-19 drug for most Filipino respondents.

A full copy of the survey results has yet to be released.

The commissioned survey conducted Dec. 12 to 16 was part of SWS’s Fourth Quarter survey, had 1,440 respondents and a margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percent for national percentages.